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Cold Hardy BananasThis forum is dedicated to the discussion of bananas that are able to grow and thrive in cold areas. You'll find lots of tips and discussions about keeping your bananas over the winter.

I'm really in love with those color red leaf bananas. I saw it again from nate's gallery. Here are my plans. It really gets cold here in winter. What I am planning to do is to just plant them in a pot. Then when weather starts getting colder, I'll bring them in to the basement. Will that work? What about sunlight? watering?

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Neil, Which one are you referring to? The Siam Ruby? Yes your plan will work with most all nana's. My Siam is going in the greenhouse just to be sure I don't loose her. I'll be curious what methods others will use. No sunlight just maybe a few fluorescence in the basement. You really only need to water once or twice all winter. They will start to drop most of there leaves and look pretty ragged, that's O.K. You just wanna make sure the pseudo stays firm and you'll be alright. I would probably keep them off the floor just to be safe. Put em on some bricks or a pallet.-Nate

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Banana's are a safe addiction. Right?Maybe I need classes.

I was going to say this, too. I live far enough south that I don't have to move my bananas in and out (thank goodness), but my red ones (Rojos) would be relatively easy to damage: their pseudostems are much thinner than any of my other bananas.

I had trouble with my Siam ruby even in my window, because it wasn't hot enough inside where I had it last winter. I guess it could have been something else, but they seem like a pain in the butt to keep healthy in the winter when young/small.

I was there last year and saw some SDC in concrete planters on a porch on Riverside drive in Riverside, IL. They looked very nice. I would never have noticed them before, if it weren't for this site...

Bringing them in is the only way to keep them alive. Keep the basement around 50-55 degrees, and they shouldn't grow too much, you should need little, if any, water, and they will look cool in your basement tiki room.

If your basement is heated, you'll need alot more light, and water, or the plants will stretch for the little bit of light and get spindly. If you have an enclosed crawlspace, it may be warm enough there, without triggering growth, to overwinter them in.

Good luck!

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Quote:

Originally Posted by pitangadiego

There is no excuse for still having grass. I haven't mowed in 20 years. With all that space, I could plant another 100 bananas.

When I lived in St. Louis I overwintered some of my bananas in my basement. I only had a couple back then but it can be done. My basement was a split in two with one side finished and the other unfinished-the two sections being divided by a wall. I put the bananas in the unfinished and unheated portion. There was a window but they got very little light and very little water all winter. Like Nate said, you won't need to water them much, if at all. The goal is to induce dormancy or semi-dormancy. You want them to remain alive, but not grow.

I tried this with my Siam Ruby last year in our house here in the Houston area and it was tough. I had to water it because it was warm inside so it kept wanting to grow but the growth started getting lanky. I was really worried about it but it pulled through and is back out in the ground now.

I overwinter a few young 'nanas every year i my basment. I put them under gro-lux tubes and most are okay. I lost my siam ruby though. I think it needed more light and probably more warmth than a steady 60f. Ensete Maurelli provides enough color for me, and is easy uner lights or dormant for larger ones.